Uso de Paclobutrazol e esterco bovino melhora a qualidade das mudas de pimenta

Abstract

The use of high quality seedlings is a key factor for the success of vegetable production. A high quality seedling may be obtained with the use of appropriate substrates and adequate nutritional and hormonal balance of the plants. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of foliar application of nitrogen and paclobutrazol and the use of cattle manure on production of pepper seedlings. Pepper seedlings (Capssicum frutescens cv. Malagueta) were grown in a seedling nursery with shadow protection at 50%. Treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design in a 2x3 factorial: two types of substrates [commercial substrate (Bioplant®) and alternative substrate composed of 50% cattle manure and 50% vermiculite] and three foliar treatments [10000 mg L-1 nitrogen (N); 50 mg L-1 paclobutrazol (PBZ); and 10000 mg L-1 N + 50 mg L-1 PBZ], with six replications. Foliar applications were performed at 21 days after sowing. Three categories of morphological indicators were measured, i.e., plant dimensions (height and diameter), plant dry matter (shoot, root and total dry matter) and indices (sturdiness quotient “SQ”, shoot:root dry matter ratio “SRR” and Dickson quality index “DQI”). The use of paclobutrazol, associated or not with nitrogen, and the use of alternative substrate consisting of 50% cattle manure and 50% vermiculite improved the quality of pepper seedlings, indicating they are excellent management strategies for the vegetable seedling production.